Shielded cable connectors of the type sold by AMP Incorporated in its AMPLIMITE line of connectors are popular for terminating individually insulated conductors. Historically, connectors of this type have been assembled to multiconductor cable having a metal shielding braid in several ways. According to one method, the individual conductors are terminated to terminals in the connector, plastic is premolded onto the conductors, metal foil is wrapped about the premold, and plastic is postmolded (overmolded) onto the foil, yielding a finished connector with an exposed mating face and the cable emerging from the overmold opposite the mating face. More recently, a connector shield in the form of stamped and formed metal shell in two halves has been applied to the terminated connector and the plastic is overmolded onto the shell as taught in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 682,045. The overmolding procedure, while effective, requires injection molding equipment and attendant capital expenditure beyond the reach of the small manufacturer. Accordingly, a dielectric boot which could be received over the shielded connector would be desirable for small production runs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,793 discloses an elastomeric boot assembly for a cable connector of the type having a mating face and an opposed cable receiving face, the boot having an open connector receiving end and an opposed cable receiving end. The boot is received on the connector by sliding it over a cable terminated thereto, the cable being received through a cable receiving aperture in the cable receiving end, the mating face remaining exposed through the connector receiving end of the boot.
The above described boot is not adapted for use with a shielded connector with a flange through which screws are received for retaining the connector against a complementary connector. It would be desirable to design such a boot where such screws are received therethrough after the boot is assembled to the connector, and further, to retain the screws in the assembly when not mated.